Express-Scripts plans $56 million expansion and 1,500 new jobs over five years

St. Louis is headed to the top ten in college attainment.

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A pillar of our economic development strategy is that, “We will win on today’s regional strengths in focused economic clusters. Explore in detail the four sectors that we believe will shape our region’s future.

“The Banker” … from Central Park West to Washington Avenue

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We’ve condensed a detailed three-year plan into a single paragraph we call our Strategy Statement. It’s all about priorities and direction.

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Our research team has probably answered almost any question that could be asked regarding the St. Louis region. If you can't find it in our Regional Data section, please send a note to Tim Alexander at talexander@stlregionalchamber.com.

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Inner City Capital Connections Program has come to St. Louis. To date, this program has helped 837 different businesses raise over $1.32 billion in capital and create over 11,000 jobs in the inner city. Read more about the program on our blog.

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We believe nothing is more important in St. Louis than achieving Top 10 status in college attainment among the nation's largest metros. Visit www.topteneducation.org to follow our progress.

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If your company represents growth potential for the region -- or you know of other companies that do -- we'd be pleased to help however we can. Please contact Jim Alexander at jalexander@stlregionalchamber.com

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St. Louis is home to 16 Fortune 1000 companies and some of the largest private firms in the U.S.; but don't overlook the ever increasing number of high growth small-to-medium enterprises and startups. Click here for a quick summary.

St. Louis Press Pass

by
St. Louis Regional Chamber
| May 23, 2016

Analysts to Monsanto: Grow big or grow home

(St. Louis Business Journal, 5/20/16)

First, Monsanto went big with its $47 billion takeover offer last year for Syngenta, which was rebuffed. Then, last month, Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant said the company is no longer interested in large-scale mergers or acquisitions and would focus on innovation, collaboration and small-scale acquisitions.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Does a Monsanto sale threaten area's thriving plant science hub?

(St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5/20/16)

More than a few hurdles face German chemicals and pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG before its unsolicited offer to buy Monsanto becomes reality.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Research assistant Erin Hall extracts DNA from wheat at Monsanto's Chesterfield Village Research Center.

Explore the technology Monsanto uses at its Chesterfield research facility

(St. Louis Business Journal, 5/17/16)

Monsanto, the global ag giant, recently gave the Business Journal a tour of its Chesterfield Village Research Center to show what it does and how it does it.>> CLICK FOR MORE

St. Louis area experiencing business growth

(KTVI, 5/16/16)

Stan Kroenke may claim St. Louis is a bad place to do business, but as we reported last week, Top Golf is just the latest of several big name chains being added to the St. Louis area`s marquee.>> CLICK FOR MORE

St. Louis area median home prices up 17 percent in April

(St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5/18/16)

The median home sales price in the St. Louis area increased 17 percent last month compared with April 2015.>> CLICK FOR MORE

How a Cahokia grocery store will become St. Louis' next public company

(St. Louis Business Journal, 5/13/16)

When Bill Moran opened the first Save-A-Lot in 1977 in Cahokia, Illinois, he saw the potential for small grocers to compete against national chains by using cost-cutting to target lower-income shoppers.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Capital Innovators is linchpin of St. Louis startup scene

(St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5/20/16)

Judy Sindecuse hadn’t even heard of accelerator funds when she set out to create one.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Venture capital interest in blockchain startups on the rise

(St. Louis Business Journal, 5/18/16)

More money is being invested in startups developing blockchain technology, which is behind the bitcoin digital currency.>> CLICK FOR MORE

In Your Neighborhood- Cortex

(KTVI, 5/13/16)

Founded in 2002, Cortex is the Midwest’s premiere innovation hub of bioscience and technology research, development and commercialization, serving as an anchor of St. Louis’ growing ecosystem for innovative startup programs and established companies.>> CLICK FOR MORE

National Mapping Agency Sets Up Shop in Silicon Valley

(Government Technology, 5/18/16)

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the mapping agency expanding its western headquarters in St. Louis, announced on Monday that it will create an "outpost" in Silicon Valley.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Memorial seeks to add doctors for new building

(St. Louis Business Journal, 5/13/16)

Memorial Hospital plans to launch efforts to recruit doctors both to join its Memorial Medical Group and to operate independent physician practices in the $22 million medical office building it is planning for its newly opened Shiloh campus.>> CLICK FOR MORE

The proposed 70,500-square-foot medical office building would house offices for primary care, internal and family medicine physicians as well as obstetrics/gynecology and orthopedic specialists.

As St. Louis-based Byrne & Jones Construction celebrates the 40th anniversary of its founding, it is expanding with the acquisition of Midwest Foundation, a Peoria, Ill. marine construction services company.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Weber Workforce Center planned with support of estate gift

(Riverbender.com, 5/18/16)

Lewis and Clark Community College will break ground on a new workforce building on the Godfrey Campus later this year, thanks to a nearly $3.25 million gift from the estate of local resident Ed Weber.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Plan advances for $60M bridge linking Missouri, Illinois

(St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5/18/16)

An old, narrow and deteriorating Mississippi River bridge at Louisiana, Missouri, may finally be replaced within the next few years, following two recent developments.>> CLICK FOR MORE

The Champ Clark Bridge in Louisiana, MO was built in 1928 and carries 4,000 vehicles daily.

A group including Michael Staenberg and Tom Kaiman is proposing a 44-acre Chesterfield Valley development anchored by a 130,000-square-foot hockey complex.>> CLICK FOR MORE

Small Business Week honors black business owners

(The St. Louis American, 5/12/16)

Two African-American local business owners received awards during National Small Business Week, held in St. Louis from May 2 to 7.>> CLICK FOR MORE

New student-driven East St. Louis Initiative connects entrepreneurs with resources

(Fuse, 5/16/16)

ESLI exists to support East St. Louis entrepreneurs with access to consulting, training, and legal services. In order to provide these services, ESLI connects student volunteers with a budding entrepreneur for four months of intensive support. The organization is already supporting a pair of driven entrepreneurs, including a mobile barbershop and a volleyball club.>> CLICK FOR MORE

DiversityInc ranks utilities Ameren Corp 1st in nation

(American Daily News, 5/17/16)

For the second consecutive year, DiversityInc has ranked Ameren Corporation first in the United States on its 2016 listing of the nation’s Top 7 Utilities. Since 2010, Ameren has been recognized among DiversityInc’s top utilities for creating an inclusive workplace, supporting the diverse communities it serves and developing strong partnerships with diverse suppliers. >> CLICK FOR MORE

Syrian Refugees to Arrive in St. Louis Within a Year

(CBS St. Louis, 5/17/16)

Around 300 Syrian refugees could be arriving in St. Louis within a years time and 10,000 are expected nationwide. >> CLICK FOR MORE

There are at least two distinct lines of thought regarding economic development incentives in the City of St. Louis. One believes that incentives are absolutely necessary to generate investment, that “but for” the incentives, development would not happen. The other believes that incentives are a giveaway to big developers and real estate interests that impoverish the city and particularly burden residents outside the incentive system.>> CLICK FOR MORE

What would a National Park Service designation mean for Cahokia Mounds?

(St. Louis Public Radio, 5/15/16)

On a warm spring afternoon, Italian archaeology students from the University of Bologna were painstakingly sifting through mud from a pit they’re excavating at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in Collinsville.>> CLICK FOR MORE

The 100-foot-tall Monks Mound, which contains about 22 million cubic feet of earth, draws the most visitors to the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site annually. It’s the largest prehistoric earthen construction in north or south America.

It wasn't much of a contest when it came to hometown viewers for the second round series between the Stars and St. Louis Blues. In Dallas-Fort Worth the seven-game series on NBCSN and NBC averaged a 3.3 rating. In St. Louis the average was 14.8. That's a lopsided 4½-to-1 advantage for the Blues in hometown television sets tuned into the games.>> CLICK FOR MORE